Home office expert's guide to working from home/home office tips
Working from a home office never felt so cool
A few weeks ago while I was walking to my home office carrying my MacBook, I fell and landed on top of it. From that graceful experience I learned something very important: make sure you have a good computer person in your back pocket.
You never know when you'll need to fix your computer.
It turns out I’d cracked my LCD screen and a guy at the Apple Store told me Apple could fix it for $750. Really? I could buy a new Mac for a few hundred dollars more. [Read more...]
I just ran across an article by Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of GrowBiz Media and an icon in the small business field. I’ve followed her work for years. In her article, “There Are No ‘One Size Fits All’ Solutions in Business,” Rieva shares valid points for why the same small business solutions can’t be applied to every business. She disputes the notion that every small business needs to blog (good point) and she finds value in Twitter when it’s used the right way.
One size fits all works in the clothing field but not in the business world.
Did you know?
Source: Southwest Airlines Spirit magazine
What they mean
You’ve probably heard the terms Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM), but do you know what they actually mean? After reading “The Difference Between SEO and SEM” you will. This article makes both tools easy to understand and shares guidelines for using them.
How they work
After you understand the difference between SEO and SEM, you can put them to work. The article “10 Practical Small Business SEO and SEM Marketing Tips“ gives suggestions for making your SEO and SEM efforts count. Two of my favorite tips are #5. Pay attention to landing pages10 (you don’t have to send visitors to your home page) and #10. Stay True To Your Business. Write for your audience, not for search engines. You don’t need to implement all ten tips but you’ll find some good info you can use right away. Isn’t that the best kind?
Marketers are finding new uses for text messages.
Did you know that according to CTIA, the wireless industry trade group, around 3.5 billion text messages are sent and received every day? And while you may think that teens are contributing to those high numbers—I know my sons and their friends are—it turns out the biggest increases are in people over 30 years old.
An article in The New York Times describes some creative ways companies are marketing to cell phone users of all ages through text messages. They’ve found we’re more likely to read a text message than an e-mail. Considering most of us get more e-mails than text messages, it makes sense.
Building a strong list of twitter followers is easy for some and a major struggle for others. While I’m thrilled with my steadily growing following, I fall somewhere in the middle. Finding followers is one thing; having your tweets retweeted is another.
Tweeting's more interesting when others follow along.
In his article, “Report: Nine Scientifically Proven Ways to Get Retweeted on Twitter,” Dan Macsai shares tips from viral marketing scientist Dan Zarrella. [Read more...]
More money, more money
An article posted on Technology Toolkit called “Five Great Home Business Ideas That Could Make Money” offers a few tips worth considering, including writing articles and completing surveys. If you’re struggling to come up with a way to make money from home, this article is a good place to start.
Verizon + Office Depot = savings
There’s a new team in town: The Verizon Small Business Center and Office Depot. Reuters reports that this new team’s goal is to offer small businesses discounts up to 12% when they buy office supplies. That’s a definite improvement from the 0% discount I’m getting at my local Office Depot.
To participate, businesses need to log on to the Verizon Small Business Center’s Web site and click on the “Office Depot Discount Program” link (under “Alliance Discount Program”).
Knowing what to write can be harder than writing.
No more writer’s block
If you’re facing writer’s block and don’t know what you’re going to write about next, grab a pad of paper and a pencil and start mind mapping. Meryl Evans of Web Worker Daily went back to basics—computer mind mapping apps didn’t do it for her—and made mind mapping work for her. Technology ‘s great and can help in so many ways, but sometimes it’s easier to go back to basics.
Taking the “free” out of freelance
Are you a freelance writer with too much emphasis on the word free? Turn your writing skills into cash by checking out this post from Freelance Writing. You’ll find a list of the top freelance writing sites. Although the list is almost two years old, the information is still current. The only exception is Writer Lance, which is back in business.
Do you feel lucky? If so then pull out your pen, light up your laptop and get ready to enter two small business contests.
It pays to be green
Small Business Trends is looking for your tips for going green. The prize? An HP desktop computing suite that includes the HP Compaq dc7900 Ultra Slim Business PC; The LHP L2245wg, a 22” widescreen LCD monitor; and the HP OfficeJet Pro 8500 Premier All-in-One, a printer/fax/scanner. [Read more...]
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